Can assembly



United States Patent ice 2,958,440

CAN ASSEMBLY Bruno E. Procopio, 528 Railroad Ave., and Catherine Procopio, 1802 Outlook Drive, both of Verona, Pa.

Filed Jan. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 709,684

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-48) This invention relates to a can assembly and, more particularly, to an evacuated tin or aluminum can for packaging foods or the like having contained therein a device for facilitating complete removal of the contents of the can as well as enabling opening of the can.

An outstanding disadvantage in the use of tin cans containing food and the like resides in the difficulty of removal of certain types of products, such as tomato paste, frozen fruit juices and the like, in that these products tend to cling to the inside Walls of the can and must be scraped out with a spoon or knife to prevent waste.

Another disadvantage resides in the dependence upon can openers for opening cans which are sometimes unavailable, particularly in outings.

An object of our invention is to overcome the abovenamed disadvantages and to provide a device which may be sealed inside a can, together with the contents, and which may be used to facilitate complete removal of the contents as well as to open the can without the need of the ordinary can opener.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will become more apparent from a study of the following description taken along with the accompanying drawing wherein:

The single figure is a perspective view of a sheet metal can embodying the principles of the present invention.

Referring more particularly to the figure of the drawing, numeral 1 denotes a hollow cylindrical sheet metal can having disc shaped end covers 2 and 3 which are sealed thereto in a manner well known in the art. The can may be made of tin, aluminum or other suitable material.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a device for facilitating removal of the contents and for opening the can which comprises a bottom disc 4, which is slightly less in diameter than can 1 and which Patented Nov. 1, 1960 is adapted to rest on the bottom 2 of the can. Integrally formed on and extending from one side of disc 4 is a lifting supporting strip 6. Strip 6 extends through and may be sealed in a scored portion of the can lid 3 extending along a circular path 3a and terminating in a hooked end 7 which may be easily grasped and lifted with the forefinger. In so lifting the seal will be broken, and by virtue of the sharp edges of strip 6 it may be used as a knife or cutter to cut a circular opening 3b in the lid by vertical reciprocating movements.

Thus it will be seen that We have provided an efiicient tin can assembly which includes a food removing element so as to cleanly scrape the contents of a can from the innerwalls thereof and facilitate removal of the contents; furthermore We have provided a combination food removing element and can opener so that by lifting movement the can may be first unsealed and thereafter the lid may be cut ofi by the same device.

While we have illustrated and described a single embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that this is by way of illustration only, and that various changes and modifications may be made within the contemplation of our invention and within the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

In combination with a cylindrical can having discshaped lid and bottom portions and a hollow cylindrical sidewall portion, a disc inside said can snugly fitting inside said sidewall portion and lying on said bottom portion, a lifting strip integral with and extending vertically at right angles to the periphery of said disc, contacting the inner surface of said sidewall portion and terminating in a hook shaped portion closely adjacent said lid portion, whereby after said lid portion is removed, said hook shaped portion may be lifted with the finger to lift said disc and effect clean removal of the contents, said hook shaped portion extending above said lid portion, and said knife edge extending through and sealed to a peripheral portion of said lid portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 245,590 Weiss Aug. 9, 1881 604,878 Francisco May 31, 1898 1,218,640 French Mar. 13, 1917 2,334,595 Bailey Nov. 16, 1943 2,503,276 Kranitz Apr. 11, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 258,163 Switzerland Feb. 16, 1950 

